Bill OKd Granting Residency to Widow

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill Tuesday that would give residency to a South Korean woman who has been fighting for almost three years to remain in the United States after her American husband was killed in a San Fernando Valley robbery.

Jasmin Salehi, a 33-year-old Sherman Oaks resident, faced deportation after the early 1996 slaying because she had been married only 11 months. Federal immigration law requires that foreigners be married to U.S. citizens for at least 24 months before they can become permanent residents.

The language of the House bill--sponsored by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks)--needs to be reconciled with the Senate version of the same legislation, sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), that passed earlier this year.

That means the Senate will have to vote on the House bill and then present a single version to President Clinton, who is expected to sign it.

“This is the next-to-last hurdle and a tremendous step forward,” said Sherman, who introduced the bill in 1997.

Tuesday’s action in the House marked a key victory in the lengthy battle for Salehi, whose fight to remain in the U.S. has received widespread support from politicians and the public.

Even the Immigration and Naturalization Service promised to suspend deportation proceedings while legislation was pending so that Salehi could testify against her husband’s killers.

For Salehi, 33, her American journey began in 1993 when, during a visit, she met Cyrus Salehi at a downtown Denny’s restaurant. After she returned to South Korea, a romantic relationship flourished through letters, telephone calls and visits from her husband-to-be.

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Eventually, she immigrated and married Salehi. Her life was shattered one February 1996 morning when her husband--then a part owner and manager at a Reseda Denny’s--was shot and killed by two robbers who took $400.

When Salehi showed up alone at the Federal Building in Westwood for an interview with INS officials, she was told she did not qualify for residency because she had not been married long enough. The law does not make exceptions.

Instead, she was told she could expect a certified letter from the INS telling her she had 30 days to leave the country.

Salehi’s battle has included an array of lobbying efforts, from writing letters to meeting with members of Congress and getting Sherman and Feinstein interested in her case. Meanwhile, she testified in the trial of two gang members who were sentenced to life in prison without parole.